Only slightly less expensive than Master & Dynamic's flagship MH40 over-ear headphones, the MH30 headphones are a smaller, on-ear design. They are still a major investment at $349, and the audio performance is still powerful and rich. Perhaps they could be more comfortable—over long listening periods, the earpads and headband can really make their presence known, despite feeling soft and light at first. But, really, this is a minor issue; the MH30 is a fantastic-sounding on-ear pair that's only slightly less spectacular than its more expensive, over-ear sibling. It's very good, but it doesn't manage to unseat the less pricey Bowers & Wilkins P5 Series 2 for our Editors' Choice.

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DesignThe supra-aural (on-ear) design of the MH30 is offered in black metal with black leather, gunmetal with black leather, or silver metal with brown leather. To say that the headphones look and feel luxurious is an understatement—the MH30, like its sibling the MH40, are design pieces.

The earcups and headband are sufficiently padded and feel quite confortable at first, and for short-to-moderate listening periods, they remain that way. Over time, however, the pressure exerted on the top of the skull and the ears can become unpleasant, regardless of adjustments made. That said, everyone's head is shaped differently, and it is at least possible to get a very precise fit with the MH30 thanks to demarcated numbers and notches above each earcup.

The woven cables that ship with the MH30—one has an inline three-button remote and microphone, the other does not—can connect to either the left or right earcup. The MH30 also ships with a 1/4-inch headphone jack adapter, a large carrying pouch, and a smaller, leather-lined canister that houses the cables. In short, the accessories are plentiful and high-quality.

You can also buy an additional accessory some will find quite useful: a boom mic that connects to either earcup. The boom mic is a whopping extra $129, but possibly worth it for those who need extremely clear hands-free phone operation.

PerformanceOn tracks with powerful sub-bass content, like The Knife's "Silent Shout," the MH30 delivers an intense bass experience. The deep lows are delivered cleanly and articulately at top volumes, and the bass response remains quite full at more moderate levels—this is a boosted sound, but aggressively unbalanced. There's plenty of of high-mid and high-frequency presence to keep things from sounding muddy, despite the boosting in the lows and low-mids.

Bill Callahan's "Drover," a track with very little sub-bass content, gives a better idea of what the MH30's sound signature is really like. The baritone vocals get plenty of low-mid representation, and just enough high-mid edge to stay clear and fairly crisp. The drums on this track receive a healthy added dose of low-frequency presence. Nothing sounds unnatural, but the drums have a thicker, fuller thump, while the guitar strumming sounds a bit less bright than it does on some models that sculpt and boost the highs a bit more. The overall sound is balanced, but with a definite lean to the mids and low-mids; it's less crisp than full-bodied.

On Jay-Z and Kanye West's "No Church in the Wild," we hear more of this focus on the mids. The attack of the kick drum loop gets some high-mid attention, but not as much as it often does with pairs that sculpt that range. It sounds powerful, but a bit less sharp, and thus slices through the mix just a bit less than normal. The sub-bass synth hits that punctuate this loop aren't delivered with the same deep bass power you get from a seriously bass-boosted pair, but the bass is still boosted enough to tilt the mix slightly in favor of the lows and low-mids. The vocals float cleanly and clearly over the dense mix, despite not being quite as crisp as they could be.

Classical tracks, like the opening scene in John Adams' The Gospel According to the Other Mary, sound more balanced than just about any other genre through the MH30. The lower register instrumentation receives a healthy boost, but nothing too extreme. While the higher register strings, brass, and vocals don't receive a heavy amount of sculpting and boosting, they already stand out naturally in the mix. The result is still a bass-forward sound, but somewhat crisper than the MH30 sounds on other genres.

If you like the idea of a bass-forward, classy-looking on-ear headphone pair, but the MH30's price makes you do a double take, the Klipsch Reference On-Ear and the Bowers & Wilkins P5 Series 2 both offer strong audio performance for significantly less money. But if all of these are out of your budget and you're simply after an affordable on-ear option, the Shure SRH145m+ is a budget-priced pair of headphones that sounds excellent. For the price, the Master & Dynamic MH30 delivers a clean, powerful audio experience—we may favor the over-ear MH40 a bit more, but it also costs more.

Master & Dynamic MH30

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